Digital heart book

No man has less taste for
disagreeable duties than myself; perhaps there is only
one subject on which I cannot flatter a man without a
blush; but upon that, upon all that touches art, my
sincerity is Roman. Once and twice I made the circuit
of his walls in silence, spying in every corner for
some spark of merit; he meanwhile following close at my
heels, reading the verdict in my face with furtive
glances, presenting some fresh study for my inspection
with undisguised anxiety, and (after it had been
silently weighed in the balances and found wanting)
whisking it away with an open gesture of despair. By
the time the second round was completed, we were both
extremely depressed.
"Oh!" he groaned, breaking the long silence, "it's
quite unnecessary you should speak!"
"Do you want me to be frank with you? I think you are
wasting time," said I.
"You don't see any promise?" he inquired, beguiled by
some return of hope, and turning upon me the
embarrassing brightness of his eye. "Not in this
still-life here of the melon? One fellow thought it
good.


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